Chapter 222
The Student Unit Competition.
Since it is a competition where First Year Students and Second Year Students mix without distinction.
It was chaos everywhere as the Student Units tried to bond.
The Lion Order also gathered in one place, as if they were trying to bond in their own way.
"Hmm, does this even have any meaning?"
The problem was that the Commander was someone far from the concept of bonding.
Charlotte made a bored expression as she looked at the students gathered in front of her.
Although she had risen to the position of Student Commander, Charlotte always threw the actual work to the members of the Lion Order.
Except when there was a mission, she had no interest in trivial tasks.
Perhaps that's why she was indifferent about this Student Unit Competition as well.
"Isn't it just over if Kraush and I participate?"
Charlotte looked at Kraush as if to say the two of them were enough.
And among those who heard her words, not a single one showed an offended expression.
Well, it was a natural statement.
Among the First Year and Second Year Students, the two strongest individuals, without a doubt, were in the Lion Order.
As they said, the competition might just end if the two of them participated.
"Charlotte, for that to happen, the entire Student Unit needs to actively participate to gain additional points."
Delon Marquis, the son of the Starlon Chancellor and the de facto vice leader of the Lion Order, advised Charlotte.
As he did, he subtly whispered into Charlotte's ear.
"And if you win first place in the competition, wouldn't it also help Mr. Kraush, since he's a member of the same Lion Order?"
Charlotte looked toward Kraush.
With her arms crossed, she slowly tapped her arm and then raised the corner of her lips slightly.
It was Charlotte's signature patented smile.
"We should at least aim for first place."
Delon had become quite adept at handling Charlotte.
It was also a fortunate story for Kraush.
After all, nothing was more reassuring than Charlotte actively participating.
Since Sigrid was aiming for first place, they absolutely wanted to block her.
"So, what exactly is this bonding activity?"
Charlotte had never done anything like bonding in her life.
Perhaps that's why she looked at Delon as if she didn't even know how to bond.
Delon, looking at her, gave a short laugh.
It was a laugh that said there was a very simple solution.
"Let's have a picnic."
And then came an entirely unexpected suggestion.
* * *
The Lion Order's sudden picnic.
Surprisingly, it wasn't a bad choice.
After all, the Lion Order had never once united internally.
So while others were fully immersed in training.
The Lion Order was climbing a mountain near Rahelrn Academy.
"......Why are we climbing a mountain?"
Kraush turned his gaze toward the voice he heard next to him.
There stood Austria, who wasn't particularly known for her physical activity.
Rather, Kraush looked at her with a puzzled expression.
"I'm more curious why you're here participating all of a sudden."
"Well, I left the unit I was in."
The unit Austria had been part of.
Originally, it was the Libra Unit, where Cardinal Mirey Beakis was the Student Commander.
As a Saintess, she had belonged to the Virgin Unit, which was centered around nuns.
But after quitting her role as the Saintess, she promptly left the Virgin Unit.
Thanks to that, she currently wasn't part of any unit.
More precisely, she herself was reluctant to join any unit.
After all, her name was still being talked about everywhere.
If she rashly joined somewhere, it could draw unwanted attention.
Knowing this, Kraush glanced at Austria.
"Do you regret quitting being the Saintess?"
Since Kraush was partly responsible for the situation, he asked, and she shook her head with a bewildered expression.
"What are you talking about? I'm much more comfortable now. I was never suited for something so burdensome. You know that, don't you?"
Sorry, but no one was better suited for the position of Saintess than Austria.
Even though she spoke like this in front of Kraush.
In public, she was more compassionate than anyone else.
"Let's just say so."
But since she claimed so, Kraush decided not to press further.
After all, Austria's face did look much more relaxed since she stepped down from being the Saintess.
"So, how long are you going to avoid eye contact?"
"......."
Austria chose silence and avoided Kraush's gaze.
It had been over a month since her sudden kiss.
She no longer ran away when they met, but she still avoided making eye contact.
How long had it been since Kraush had properly looked at her face?
"I'll handle it myself!"
Austria snapped back in frustration.
Though he found it odd that she followed the Lion Order's picnic despite that.
Since she seemed to want to, Kraush decided not to question her further.
"Mr. Kraush, did something happen between you and Austria? Oh, I mean, Austria?"
Karandis, who had almost called her Saintess but corrected herself, cautiously asked Kraush.
A lot of things had happened, indeed.
But none of them were things to brag about.
Even though Austria had stepped down as Saintess, people still perceived her as one.
"It's nothing, really."
"It doesn't seem like nothing to anyone, though."
Karandis looked back and forth between Kraush and Austria with curious eyes.
Since Austria was also her competitor, she still had many questions.
In contrast, Haring was leisurely enjoying the scenery.
She seemed carefree, closing her eyes as if savoring the pleasant smell of the grass.
Yet, she followed Kraush diligently, like a cat enjoying a stroll.
"All the Second Year Students in the Lion Order have become Kraush fanatics."
Then Aslan chuckled and spoke.
As he said, the key Second Year members practically revolved around Kraush.
Some of the Second Year Students had joined after passing the Lion Order's test.
But even they were significantly influenced by Kraush.
Whenever they made eye contact with Kraush, their eyes sparkled intensely.
Kraush was currently the hero representing the Second Year Students.
Since entering Rahelrn Academy, his accomplishments were numerous, earning him immense respect from the others.
'Is it just my imagination, or are their gazes becoming more overwhelming?'
It was good that he worked hard to become the Heavenly Pivot Star that the Skyborne Generation could follow.
But as a result, the expectations seemed to be even greater than he had imagined.
'Am I also starting to feel the weight of this burden?'
Once you gain a reputation, it becomes harder to act thoughtlessly.
Reputation and the surrounding gaze are bound to collapse in an instant due to a mistake.
Restrictions on movement arise because of it.
[ Since when did you care about the eyes of those around you? ]
At that, Crimson Garden reacted as if to say, "Don't spout nonsense."
'Indeed.'
It was a specialty here not to care about what others said.
Just doing things as usual was enough.
If there was someone who criticized this side, it was more comforting to go directly and punish them.
'Arthur might have collapsed because he couldn't do that.'
Unlike Kraush, Arthur did his best for his reputation.
Because of that, he had a lot to worry about, which mentally wore him down, yet he desperately polished his reputation.
'It was almost an obsession.'
Was there something in Arthur's past that influenced him?
Kraush hardly knew anything about Arthur's past.
Although he wandered around with him, they had never once had a serious conversation.
Just as Arthur saw Kraush as a tool, Kraush also saw Arthur as a tool to protect him from destruction.
No one shares deep conversations with a tool.
In that sense, Kraush and Arthur might have been similar in how they treated each other.
Neither of them had ever tried to confirm each other's true feelings.
'And now, your true feelings can never be known forever.'
The Arthur that Kraush remembers no longer exists in this world.
However, Arthur clearly exists in this world.
Kraush's eyes landed on Fake Arthur.
He had long blonde hair like Arthur but a more feminine face.
Fake Arthur was following leisurely, as if admiring the scenery, along with Haring.
It was because Charlotte had recommended him to join the Lion Order through Kraush's request.
Even before joining the Lion Order, he had always seemed somewhat detached.
At Rahelrn Academy, there was not a single person who hung out with him.
Even though he was also a member of the Special Class.
"Arthur Gramalte, he's quite peculiar, isn't he?"
At that moment, Karandis, noticing Kraush's gaze, spoke about Fake Arthur.
"He always shows outstanding skills, but he avoids relationships with people. It seems he pushes everyone away when they try to get close."
"You know him well."
"Yes, we're in the same Special Class. I've tried talking to him before."
Like with Mary, Karandis had subtly taken good care of the Special Class.
Perhaps because of that, she seemed to have tried to approach Fake Arthur to get along with him.
"But he hardly responded, so I eventually gave up."
If even the sociable Karandis gave up, it meant he practically didn't respond at all.
'Is he saying that fulfilling the role of Fake Arthur is enough?'
Kraush briefly recalled a conversation he had with Fake Arthur not long ago.
[ Indeed, the power of World Erosion alone wouldn't have been enough. Both then and now. ]
Words that were incredibly meaningful.
Kraush had dismissed those words as nonsense.
Arthur, who experienced regression in the same round as him, no longer exists in this world.
So, he thought Fake Arthur was just saying it to test him.
But it was true that those words kept lingering in his mind.
Kraush also only learned of Fake Arthur's existence in this round.
After all, there was no such person in the previous round.
What exactly did he do in the previous round?
Was it because Kraush's gaze was felt?
Fake Arthur also shifted his gaze this way.
For a very brief moment, the two locked eyes.
But soon, their gazes naturally drifted apart.
Because after that day's conversation, there was nothing more to talk about between the two.
"We've arrived."
In the meantime, Delon announced their arrival.
When everyone lifted their heads, the mountain's summit came into view.
From the summit, where rocks and trees were scattered, one could see the entire mountain scenery at a glance.
Even so, the World Tree was so tall that one had to crane their neck to look up at it.
The sunlight filtering through the leaves that filled the sky was incredibly warm.
"Now that we've come for a picnic, let's try one round of training."
By the time the sweat from climbing the mountain cooled in the breeze at the summit.
Delon brought up the word "training."
A picnic followed by training.
It was indeed an abrupt arrangement, but everyone showed interest.
At that, Delon raised the corners of his lips amidst everyone's anticipation.
"Coincidentally, our Lion Order has two First Year and Second Year Martial Arts Department Presidents among us."
Those two were none other than Charlotte and Kraush.
While Charlotte and Kraush exchanged glances, Delon adjusted his glasses.
"The two of you will form a team, and the rest of the Lion Order members will form another team for a mock battle starting now."
And the training that came out of Delon's mouth was something entirely unexpected.
Delon, this man.
From the time I saw him following Charlotte around, I already knew this man wasn't normal.